Gastonia man accused of kidnapping 3 women, leading police on chase

Thursday

May 2, 2013 at 12:01 AMMay 2, 2013 at 10:34 PM

Kevin Ellis

A 47-year-old Gastonia man stole a woman's car at knifepoint before leading police on a chase that involved at least two hostages and ended in a crash that shut down U.S. 321 South at I-85 for several hours Thursday.

The incident began in the late afternoon with an aggravated assault call on East Fourth Avenue and ended with Fred Byrd of 107 S. Broad St. striking a utility pole near the intersection of U.S. 321 and I-85.

Byrd was charged with three counts of kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon and several assault charges. He was jailed under a $300,000 bond and has a first court appearance scheduled for later Friday.

The chase began somewhere around Gaston Avenue and when the person reached Long Avenue and U.S. 321 he traveled in the wrong direction for a short period of time on the one-way street, said Gastonia Police Sgt. Nancy Capistran. Byrd reached speeds of 80 mph during the chase, according to police.

Byrd had two women in the car during the chase. One of them jumped from the car during the chase, according to police. All three were transported to the hospital in stable condition, Capistran said. Police said Byrd knew the two women he held in the car with the use of threats and a knife.

“We’re blessed that no one else got hurt and no other vehicles got involved, especially with the traffic at the time this occurred,” Capistran said. “We’re very blessed that nothing got bigger than it did.”

The chase involved high speeds and the situation became very dangerous in large part because of the hostages.

“Our victims are our biggest concern, our officers and the public that doesn’t expect someone coming the wrong way in traffic and being put in that situation,” Capistran said.

An officer stopped to help the one woman jumped out of the car. The chase continued until the suspect hit the utility pole.

Police were waiting on city utility workers at 9:30 p.m. to finish repairing the pole and eliminate the danger from live electrical wires on the ground. The incident caused a power failure in the area, although the two gas stations at U.S. 321 North did have electricity.

Traffic was allowed to get off of I-85 and head south, but traffic was stopped on U.S. 321 South and North at the interstate.

Capistran said the major thoroughfare may be blocked for several hours.

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You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or @TheGazetteKevin on Twitter.